Rack attachment for pocket billiard tables



Jan. 19, 1932. T. E. DUNN HACK AT'IACIIMEN'L FOR POCKET BILLIARD TABLES Filed June 21, 19:50 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEN TOR.

m T. T A z B a v M 4.

Jan. 19, 1932. v T, E, DUNN 1,842,080

RACK ATTACHMENT FOR POCKET BILLIARD TABLES Filed June 21,1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEY.

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RACK ATTACHMENT FOR POCKET B ILLIARD TABLES I Filed June 21, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 gu umwl: l

Jan. 19, v1932. U 1,842,080

RACK ATTACHMENT FOR POCKET BILLIARD TABLES Filed June 21, 1950, 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVEN TOR. Q EE/g/YW' @mm A FTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 19, 1932 UNITED STATES THOMAS E. DUNN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

RACK ATTACHMENT FOR POCKET BILLIARD TLABLES Application filed June 21,

, to him.

The present invention contemplates certain improvements in such attachment whereby, after the game is finished, the balls from all of said racks may be readily gathered in a basket or receptacle suspended from or placed under the attachment. For this purpose the device is provided with pivoted chutes along which the balls may roll into the basket and means operated by movement of the chutes to deliver the balls so that they are free to roll off the racks onto the chutes.

A further object of the invention is to provide the device with means whereby as each player in turnxmoves his rack into ball receiving position, such movement of the rack will automatically throw the rack of the preceding player out of ball receiving position.

. ther objects and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which V Figure 1 is a front view of the attachment applied to a pocket billiard table;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view thereoftaken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 are-detail views of the handles for 'slidingthe racks;

Fig. 'is an enlarged view, with'part of the frame broken away,showing a portion of the device;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of said portion taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4; V

Fig. 6 shows ball collecting basket both in plan and in side view;

Fig. 7 is a detail view of the gates for con- 1930. Serial No. 462,755. M

trolling delivery of the balls from the racks and the means for operating the gates;

Fig. 8 is a vertical view of the same taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 7

Fig. 9 is another sectional view thereof, '55 taken on the line 99 of Fig. 7

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the delivery ends of the racks showing a valve mechanism for preventing the balls from a jamming as they drop through'the passage leading to the discharge chute;

Fig. 11 is a sectional elevation showing a modification of the valve "mechanism;

Fig. 12 is a horizontal sectional view thereof on the line 1212 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a verticalsectional view of a device for breaking the'fall of the balls into the basket; and, v

Fig. 14: is a front view of the same.

Referring to the drawings, 10 indicates the frame of device, which frame is attachable to a pocket billiard table of the type having gutters for conveying the balls to a common discharge, such table being represented in dotted lines in Fig. l.

The frame has an opening 11 in its rear wall which opening registers with the gutter discharge. A plurality of racks 12 and 13, arranged in tiers, are so mounted on the 7 frame that the inner end of each rack may be moved into or out of position to receive the ballslt as they drop through the opening 11. To so move the racks, each is provided with a stem 15 carrying a handle or knob 16, which stem extends through a slot 17 in the frontwall 18 of the frame. The racks are inclined slightly to allow the balls to roll towards their outer ends. A stationary extension piece 19 is fixed to the frame directly bea low the outer end of each rack, said extension piece forming, a continuation of the rack, when it is moved into its ball receiving position, for carrying the balls from the rack to the passage 20 through which they drop onto the discharge chute 21. These parts 95 are all preferably faced or lined with felt to deaden the sound, while the racks, the eX- tension pieces, and the chutes are channel shaped to provide a runway for the balls. 1 a

The discharge chute 21 is pivoted intermediate its ends, as at 22, to the frame of the device and inclines downwardly from the lower end of the passage 20. The device has two such chutes 21, each carrying a weight 23 at its lower end, said chutes being coupled together by a pivoted connecting bar 24. Gates and 26, faced on their inner surface with felt pads 27, are pivoted to the frame adjacent to the outer ends of the racks 12 and 13 respectively, said gates being mounted to swing angularly in a vertical plane, so that in one position, as seen in Fig. 8, the will block the passage of the balls 14 from the racks into passage 20, while in another position they will permit the balls to drop into the passage. It will be observed that the gate 26 of the lower rack extends inwardly further than the gate 25 of the upper rack. Because of this, when the gates are opened, the balls of the upper racks will tend to drop into the passage before those of the lower rack, said upper balls having a shorter distance to roll.

The gates are operatively connected to the pivoted member 21 by means of a wire or rod 28 so that when said member is moved from the position indicated by solid lines to that indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 7 both gates will be pulled simultaneously into vertical position, allowing the balls to roll off the racks. The two members 21 are conuected together by the bar 24, and therefore when the bar is raised, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, all four gates, that is the two gates at each end of the device, will be opened to discharge the balls from all the racks at one time. The normal inclination of the chutes 21 is such that they may be moved vertically a distance su'tlicient to cause the gates to open fully while still having enough downward slant to allow the balls to roll.

A flap 29 is suspended from a horizontal pin 30 to hang across the opening from the rack 13 into the passage 20. It will be seen, on referring to Fig. 10, that the flap alternately opens and closes as the balls 14 drop from the upper and lower racks respectively, and thus functions as a valve to prevent any possibility of the balls jamming in the passage. In Figs. 11 and 12, T have shown a modification of the valve comprising a curved metal plate 31 hinged at one side to a vertical pin 32 so as to swing in a horizontal plane instead of vertically as in the case of the flap 29.

Any suitable receptacle may be used to gather the balls as they are discharged from the chutes 21. I prefer, however, to employ a basket 33 of the type illustrated in Fig. 6. The basket has hooks 34 whereby it may be hung on the connecting bar 24 of said chutes. Now when it is desired to empty the racks, the operator simply tilts the has ket upwardly sufficient to allow of the required movement of the chutes necessary to open the gates 24 and 25. In this position the rear end of the basket, into which end the balls drop, will be raised slightly from the floor thus permitting the natural resiliency of the wicker basket to ease the shock and deaden the noise of the dropping balls.

One of the features of this invention resides in the provision of means whereby as each player moves his rack into position to receive the balls pocketed by him, such operation automatically throws the rack of the preceding player out of ball receiving position. These means are best seen in Figs. 4 and 5, where 35 indicates a slide having slots 36 and mounted to move sideways in both directions on screws or studs 37 fixed to front wall 18 of the frame. The member 35 has notches 38 in its sides, which notches are adapted to engage with the stems 15 of the rack-handles 16. The handles 16 are each preferably marked with an identification character, such as the numerals 1, 2, 3, and 4, to indicate the players to whom the rack is assigned. As shown in Fig. 4, rack l is in position to receive the balls 14 as they drop through the opening 11. Now when the first player has had his turn, the second will move his rack into position, thus throwing out the first rack. Similarly players 3 and 4 will each, in turn, move his rack into position and at the same time automatically move out of position the rack of the immediately preceding player.

For certain purposes, as in playing straight pool, all of the racks may be moved out of ball receiving position in which case the balls will drop directly from the opening 11 into the basket or receptacle 33. In order to break the fall of the balls I may provide a chute 39, shown in Figs. 13 and 14, which chute is adapted to be attached to the device. The chute has an interior shelf or partition 40 on to which the balls drop and down which they roll on to the inclined bottom 41 from which they roll into the basket. The bottom of the chute and the partition are both preferably faced with felt strips 42.

Various modifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts herein shown and described may be made without departing from the principle of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is 1. An attachment for a pocket billard table having runways for conveying balls from the pockets to a common outlet, comprising a series of racks, a movable chute, and means operated by movement of the chute for controlling delivery of balls from the racks to the chute.

2. An attachment for a pocket billiard table having runways for conveying balls from the pockets to a common outlet, comprising a series of racks, a chute pivotally mounted below the racks, and means operated by movement of the chute on its pivot for controlling delivery of balls from the racks to the chute. i

3. An attachment for a pocket billiard table having runways for conveying balls from the pockets to a common outlet, comprising a series of racks having exits each selectively movable into ball receiving relation to the outlet, a chute, a plurality of gates normally closing the exits of the racks, and means for opening said gates to permit passage of balls from the racks to the chute.

4,. An attachment for a pocket billiard table having runways for conveying balls from the pockets to a common outlet, comprising a series of racks each selectively movable into ball receiving relation to the outlet, a movable chute, a plurality of gates normally closing the exits of the racks, and means operatively connected with the chute for opening said gates upon movement of the chute.

5. An attachment for a pocket billiard table having runways for conveying balls from the pockets to a common outlet, comprising a series of racks having exits arranged in tiers, a movable chute, a plurality of gates normally closing the exits of the racks, the gates of the lower racks being positioned inwardly of the exits further than those of the upper racks, and means operatively connected with the chute for opening said gates upon movement of the chute.

6. An attachment for a pocket billiard table having runways for conveying balls from the pockets to a common outlet, comprising a series of racks arranged in tiers, a discharge chute, a passage leading from the racks to the chute, means for preventing balls from jamming in the passage, and means for controlling delivery of balls from the racks to the chute.

7. An attachment for a pocket billiard table having runways for conveying balls from the pockets to a common outlet, comprising a series of racks arranged in tiers, a discharge chute, a passage leading from the racks to the chute, a valve opening into the passage to prevent the balls from jamming therein, and means for controlling delivery of balls from the racks to the chute.

8. In an attachment for a pocket billiard table, the combination of a series of racks having exits, a discharge chute located to receive balls discharged from said exits comprising two oppositely inclined planes having their lower ends coupled together with a connecting bar and each being pivoted intermediate its ends, a plurality of gates normally closing the exits of the racks, means operatively connected with the chute for opening said gates upon movement of the chute, and a receptacle for the balls suspended from the connecting bar.

9. An attachment for a pocket billiard table having runways for conveying balls from the pockets to a common outlet,'comprising a series of downwardly inclined racks each selectively movable into ball receiving relation to the outlet, a chute pivoted intermediate its ends below the racks, and means for normally restraining the balls from rolling oif the racks said means being operatively connected with the chute to release the balls upon pivotal movement of the chute.

10. An attachment for a pocket billiard table having runways for conveying balls from the pockets to a common outlet, comprising a series of racks movable in rotation into ball receiving relation to the outlet, and means associated therewith for moving each rack out of ball receiving position when the succeeding rack of the series is moved into ball receiving position.

11. A11 attachment for a pocket billiard table having runways for conveying balls from the pockets to a common outlet, comprising a series of racks movable in rotation into ball receiving relation to the outlet, a handle for each rack, and a slide associated with the racks and engageable with the handles thereof for moving each rack out of ball receiving position when the succeeding rack of the series is moved into ball receiving position.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 16th day of June, A. D. 1930.

THOMAS E. DUNN. 

